Dr Grant's 'Top Tips'

First impressions are always the most important,ones you leave with anyone. We get a hair cut, paint our lips and lashes and find ways to keep our skin healthy but we sometimes neglect what can make the biggest first impression: our smiles.

Healthy teeth play a crucial role in making these first impressions good and long-lasting as many people place healthy teeth at the top of their list of what attracts them to another person.

Meticulous tooth care and oral hygiene is therefore an important part of your appearance - it is also an important part of your overall health care.

Follow these simple tips to help you maximise your tooth healthcare:

Limit your intake of soft drinks - Soft drinks are a potential danger for your teeth. Sugar found in soft drinks react with the natural bacteria in the mouth and forms acid. It is the acid that erodes the enamel over a period of time and causes dental cavities. It has now been proved that even the sugar free soft drinks contain additional acids which also harm the tooth enamel. Of course it is not always possible or indeed do you want to be bothered with cleaning your teeth after enjoying a soft drink. But Dr Grant's top tip is to at least try and follow your soft drink with a glass of water or chew sugar free gum to increase saliva as it helps neutralise plaque acids. Try and keep your intake of soft drinks in to a minimum.
Floss regularly - Floss at least once a day before brushing. As the saying goes 'only floss the teeth you want to keep'.
Brush your teeth regularly - Always maintain good dental hygiene and brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes.
Give up sugary snacks - Swap sugary snacks for fruit and vegetables.
Visit your dentist regularly - You need to see your dentist and hygienist every six months. Traditionally people go for a routine check for gum disease and tooth decay and you may think you don't need to bother, but these days your dentist will check for many more problems than that, i.e., erosion, and can even spot signs of other serious health problems.
Give up smoking - There are few worse things for your teeth than smoking. There are hundreds of other reasons to stop smoking, but there is much evidence to say that smoking exacerbates gum disease, stains teeth etc. Smoking really makes it more difficult to look after your teeth, not to mention the social disadvantages such as bad breath and yellowing teeth. However, If you do have yellow teeth, please don't think whitening is just for the rich and famous - it really is affordable!
Make up tip for your wedding day - The best colour lipsticks to make your teeth look brighter are darker shades that contain a blue tone. Choose rich reds and raspberry colours. If you have stained or discouloured teeth, orange tones lipsticks will have the opposite effect.